Schneider to shift eastern rail business to Norfolk Southern from CSX. No. 3 domestic intermodal provider moves from CSX. · Friday, October 30, 2026 Schneider will make Norfolk Southern its primary eastern rail provider under an agreement announced Oct. 29 aimed at expanding domestic intermodal capacity and giving shippers more options to move freight across the eastern United States. The agreement, effective in November, shifts Schneider's NYSE: SNDR) company-owned equipment, drivers and logistics operations away from CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) and pairs it with Norfolk Southern's 22-state intermodal network. The companies said the partnership would expand market access, increase capacity flexibility and help attract freight now moving by truck. "As we transition our primary eastern rail provider to Norfolk Southern, we'll expand access to key markets, increase network flexibility and create new opportunities to better serve our customers," said Michael Baumgardt, Schneider's executive vice president of intermodal and logistics, in a release. The move comes as NS pursues a transcontinental merger with Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP). Schneider's intermodal operation includes approximately 23,900 chassis, 26,800 containers and more than 60 rail hubs across North America. Its company drivers handle more than 90% of its domestic dray moves, the companies said. Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) said the partnership builds on a series of infrastructure and service investments intended to accommodate customer growth. Those projects include new service between Cincinnati and Atlanta, double-stack clearance improvements linking the Midwest and New England through its East Edge route, and terminal expansions in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Illinois. The railroad is also upgrading pavement, lighting, storage areas, maintenance facilities, truck access and security at terminals in several markets, including Atlanta, Louisville, Harrisburg, Chicago and St. Louis. Norfolk Southern said the work is intended to improve reliability and reduce the time drivers spend moving through terminals. "Customers are taking a broader view of intermodal than ever before, and we are investing ahead of that demand," said Ed Elkins, Norfolk Southern's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. Norfolk Southern reported that its intermodal volumes grew 3% in the third quarter of 2026, citing steady consumer demand, favorable truck-market conditions and network improvements. The companies said the new agreement would support further growth by broadening Schneider's reach and creating opportunities to convert truckload shipments to intermodal service. The announcement did not disclose financial terms, quantify the additional capacity expected from the partnership or specify a transition date. Why it matters: While a key win for NS, a longer-term connection to the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger gives Schneider access to additional intermodal markets by reducing the difficulties associated with shorter rail hauls and transfers between railroads. Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here. Read more:

CSX Corp. has shifted its focus from repairing its rail network to boosting productivity, management said on its October 21, 2026 earnings call. The stock trades at 26.8 times earnings, against 22.6 for the S&P 500. Revenue rose 12.0% year on year in the third quarter, after 10.1% growth in the second. Management credited higher fuel surcharges, 5% volume growth and pricing gains, with fuel making up about half the increase. Non-fuel costs fell 3%. Executives said a little over 100 initiatives support the 2027 productivity target, and that fuel efficiency was the best ever reported by a US railroad. Velocity, dwell and customer switch data all improved from the second quarter. Intermodal trip plan compliance declined, however. It is the figure to watch when CSX reports in January 2027.

Computer breakdown disrupts CSX railroad operations. DAVID PATCH Oct 28, 2026 A "technology outage" that disrupted internal data systems at the CSX Transportation railroad sharply curtailed its operations in its second day Wednesday, including in the Toledo area. Austin Staton, CSX's director of media relations, said the company's security team had confirmed that the failure of computer networks for crew management and shipment tracking and billing "was not a cyberattack and there has been no associated data breach." But the breakdown was blocking CSX's interchange of freight traffic with most other railroads, which among other things made it unable to exchange railcars with the railroad that provides switching service at Stellantis' Toledo Assembly Complex. CSX's technology section "is working diligently to correct the outage, and systems are coming back online on a rolling basis," Mr. Staton said, "but not all functions are fully restored." The computer problems did not extend to the systems used by dispatchers who control train movements on CSX tracks nor to the Positive Train Control system that enforces safe train operations. Nor are any systems belonging to other railroads or CSX customers affected, the spokesman said. "We remain focused on moving freight safely while restoring the systems that support our operations," he said. The outage does compromise CSX's ability to assign crews to trains, to create documents that give trains procedural authority to operate, and to create freight waybills for shipments originating at online shippers or from other railroads. "Limited interchange" was occurring with Conrail, which operates certain lines in the Detroit area and in and near New Jersey, and with the Belt Railway of Chicago using those companies' documents and procedures, Mr. Staton said. "Crew calling requires significant manual work, which is contributing to a slower pace of operations," the spokesman said. "We are in regular communication with the other railroads and with the Federal Railroad Administration and the Surface Transportation Board." Besides handling some of Stellantis' rail shipment of Jeeps, CSX in Toledo handles coal and iron ore shipments at the Port of Toledo, petrochemicals and other freight at the Cenovus Toledo Refinery in Oregon, and numerous other northwest Ohio customers including GM Powertrain in Defiance and an array of agricultural businesses. CSX also interchanges freight shipments with the Canadian National railroad in Toledo and operates a major intermodal freight terminal in North Baltimore, Ohio. The railroad's overall network stretches from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean and from central Michigan and Maine to southern Florida and New Orleans. First Published October 28, 2026, 2:15 p.m. Join the Conversation Reader comments are now hosted on our social media platforms. We invite you to share your perspective with fellow readers on Facebook and X. You can also make your voice heard by submitting a letter for our opinion pages.